Case Study: Reduced Turnover and Improved Performance

Family Health Clinics Use CBST to Predict Performance for Patient-Facing Staff

Challenge: A network of family healthcare clinics wanted to improve its quality-of-hire, and increase retention for its patient-facing staff at its many locations throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Solution: The organization used HireSelect to implement skills and personality testing across all of its locations. Specifically, for its medical assistants and other patient-facing staff, the clinics used the Criteria Basic Skills Test (CBST) and Customer Service Aptitude Profile (CSAP) to screen prospective employees. After incorporating these tests into its hiring process, the organization assessed the predictive power of the CBST by comparing test scores to performance and turnover statistics.

Results: CBST scores for medical assistants and patient service representatives were compared to their supervisor assigned performance ratings, and to their length of tenure. There was a very strong (.48) correlation between CBST score and performance, as high-scoring employees were on average assigned performance ratings that were 53% higher than low-scoring employees. CBST scores were also an extremely accurate predictor of turnover; this is not surprising since poor performance was the cause of most involuntary terminations. As the table below shows, employees who scored lowest on the CBST were much more likely to be terminated for performance or disciplinary reasons, and on average, were also much worse performers than those who scored in the middle or high range on the CBST.

Table 1: CBST as Predictor of Performance of Staff at Medical Clinics

Test Scores

Retention Rate (1 year)*

Average Performance Rating (36 point scale)

Low CBST Scores

42%

17.6

Medium CBST Scores

89%

24.8

High CBST Scores

100

26.9

*Voluntary terminations for non-performance related reasons not included; retention based on percent of employees who were not involuntarily terminated

By using the CBST to screen all applicants for patient-facing positions, the clinics were able to significantly reduce turnover and increase overall productivity.